1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to building construction, and more particularly concerns clips adapted for use with a runner to support parallel spaced-apart wallboards, wherein different sized clips may be utilized to support wallboards of different thicknesses within the same size runner.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the assembly of wall panels to construct a wall, and particularly a demountable wall, it is conventional to provide elongate channel members, called runners, for retaining the edges of panels. This is particularly true in constructions made from gypsum wallboard panels. The runners are secured to the floor and ceiling, thereby fixing the position of the wall with respect thereto. Such runners may have a variety of shapes, but more generally have a channel-form shape, and invariably require an inner panel supporting surface for each panel, and a side flange angularly depending from the runner exterior to the panel to hide the irregular edges characteristics of the panels. For walls of the cavity type which permit the storage of utilities and the use of two rows of wallboard each of which is decorated on only the exterior face, two rows of inner supporting surfaces and two side flanges are required. The runners may be manufactured in a variety of ways and from a variety of materials. One of the least expensive fabrication means is to roll-form metal strips into the desired channel shape.
A reduction in metal can be achieved by lancing the inner support surfaces out of the web of the runner which joins the two side flanges together. That is, the web need not be one solid piece of full length of the runner. This may be done wherein the inner support surfaces are tabs which are struck or bent out of the web along a longitudinal junction line, to a position extending generally parallel to the side flanges with which they cooperate to hold a panel edge. Such construction, however, suffers from a lack of sufficient traverse support for the lanced tabs. The result is that, as the panels are pushed against the tabs during the mounting of the panels within the runners, the tabs tend to bend permanently inwardly back toward the web of the runner. Such deflection of the tabs results in a loose fit of the panels within the runner, which usually is an unacceptable condition. Even if the contractor is careful in the erection of the panels to minimize such bending of the tabs, the tabs still are subjected to repeated transverse forces resulting from blows delivered to the face of the panel during use.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,908,328, a structure is shown wherein tabs are struck out of the web of a runner perpendicular to the web and perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the runner. Flanges may also be formed at the edges of the tabs for engaging the inner surfaces of the wallboard panels. This structure provides good strength in resisting deformation. However, after the tabs are formed, the thickness of the wallboard panels which may be inserted between the tabs and the flanges of the runners are fixed in dimension. Consequently, if wallboard panels of different thickness are utilized, runners with tabs struck in different positions must be purchased and utilized.